Border-militia group offering armed patrols

A border-militia group is trying to form a paramilitary squad with permission to confront smugglers or other suspected wrongdoers in Southern Arizona.

Cochise County Militia founder Bill Davis put out the word Monday that the group is planning to form a “private military company” that would volunteer its service to local landowners. Davis says the militia’s paramilitary squad would work at the landowner’s request “providing security and trespasser interdiction” and would not shy from a confrontation.

He says the squad would consist largely of U.S. military combat veterans, who already comprise a significant contingent of the group Davis formed in 2001.

Davis says in all the years of the militia’s existence, no member has ever fired a shot or been in trouble for their activities. But he says the group has grown tired of the ineffectiveness of calling authorities, who often respond too late.